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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · stock · bat · field · stem · bore · band · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bore — to drill
  8. field — a subject
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. band — a ring
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chip — to eat
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. band — a music group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com